A Performance for Tanabata
by Kayozuki
Summary: Yamabuki Saaya and her band, Poppin' Party were slated to perform at CiRCLE for the upcoming Tanabata Festival. But with so much stuff to handle, will she be able to take the pressure and ensure a successful performance? Or will she be tested, once again...?
1. Chapter 1

"Here's your change. Thank you! Please come again!" Saaya said cheerfully, holding out the customer's purchases in a paper bag.

The Yamabuki Bakery was bustling with people, it being busier than usual. Most of them were regular patrons from around the district; workers who popped in for a convenient breakfast before heading to work, students who were just hanging out—since it was a Sunday—or mothers who wanted to get some snacks for the family.

As the morning dragged on, Saaya even caught a glimpse of her old band, CHiSPA, huddled at the corner of the shop, and they were engaged in what appeared like a grave discussion as to what type of bread they should buy for practice. She caught the eye of the leader guitarist, Natsuki, as the latter looked up. Her lips curled up briefly, and she waved over to the counter before returning to her band's now slightly heated debate.

"What a busy few hours it's been so far," the high-schooler sighed, wiping the perspiration off her forehead with a handkerchief lying on the counter nearby. She gazed longingly at the clock, which hung with an imperceptible tilt to the left. "I've been working at full throttle since opening time, and it's only noon…?"

A cursory glance out of the shop signified no difference in the density of gathered people. Children were standing outside, their eyes burning with clear desire as they tugged on their parents' clothing, begging them for the chocolate cornets and melon buns on sale. Her eyebrows knitted as she squinted, trying to recognize the duo further up by the entrance of the shop.

Moca had her face pressed against the glass, her widened eyes ravenously feasting on the line of items on display. As the guitarist inhaled deeply, her nose took in the pleasant aroma of freshly baked bread wafting out of the shop. A soft groan escaped from her wet lips as she licked them in anticipation.

"Moca… You're going to dirty the glass if you continue doing that," a voice behind her called out. "Look at the drool dribbling from your mouth."

"Eeeeeh…?" The ivory-blonde haired girl made a disapproving sound as she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her hoodie. "But I'm hungry…. You can literally smell the fragrance from here!"

"Well, that's because the doors of the bakery are open," Tomoe told her, a finger pointed towards the entrance. "C'mon, we've gotta go. We're running late for band practice!"

"Moca-chan won't be able to concentrate later if she doesn't eat…" she moaned, still looking fixedly at the extra-large melon bun which was tantalizingly inviting her into paradisiacal territory.

"We'll be able to grab something at CiRCLE later," Tomoe countered, shaking her head, "Let's go—Hey, Moca!

Saaya couldn't help but giggle as the guitarist from Afterglow ambled mindlessly into the store as if she were possessed, headed straight for the buns being displayed prominently in the centre of the shop. Moca had always proclaimed herself as "Yamabuki Bakery's number one fan", and she was making a good show of it as she stood still like a statue in the middle of the shop, merely staring at the immaculate tower of buns with her mouth wide open.

"Hi Moca! Might you be interested in the special Star-Crossed Bread, our special Tanabata Festival buns? They're filled with lots of chocolate, with a tinge of cheese," She greeted the guitarist, bowing slightly.

The drummer from Afterglow entered the shop in tow, a faintly exasperated expression clearly written on her face. "Yo, Saaya," she greeted the Hanasakigawa student with a small nod, "Working during the weekend again? It must be hard on you, having to do this all the time."

The brown haired girl chuckled dryly. "I'll be alright. I like it; just that it's a little busier than usual, what with the Tanabata Festival approaching and all that."

"Hence the limited Star-Crossed Bread making its yearly appearance," Tomoe nodded again, "Was it you who came up with the name for the bun this time?"

"That would be Sana… I'm sure we could've thought up a more creative name, but my mum and dad seemed to like it, so that's what we went with in the end."

"Simple names are always the best…" Moca murmured, now gawking at the assortment of bread littered around the bakery.

"Oh, what about the live that us five bands are gonna be performing at CiRCLE? That's happening on Tanabata as well. Will you be able to manage?" The redhead added in realization, her face creased with mild worry.

Saaya's head shook perceptibly. "Don't worry, everything's going smoothly!"

"Well, if you say so. Just give us a holler if you need any help over the next few days… Woah, Moca! Just how many are you taking?!"

Moca had her hands crossed over her chest, and resting on her arms were a stack of star-shaped buns, each neatly arranged to form a pyramid which had built up to the point where it had fully obscured her head. Saaya couldn't help but stifle another bout of laughter as the girl swung around awkwardly, apparently being unable to identify the location of the other two girls.

"Hmmmm…?" A dimmed sleepy voice floated through the mountain of Star-Crossed Bread, the top few pieces resting insecurely above one other. "Enough for all five of us. We'll need the nourishment to survive through practice!"

"That's definitely _way_ more than what we need," she retorted, slowly stepping towards her band member. Her friend took a step back gingerly with every respective step Tomoe took. "Who's gonna pay for this, anyway?!"

"Of course you are…" Moca's shot back, albeit nonchalantly.

"And why would that be?" the drummer demanded hotly, her hands placed on her hips.

"Remember last week, when we were playing Russian Roulette with the rest during our training camp at CiRCLE, and you shot the toy revolver right next to my ear while I was sleeping? Moca-chan was dreaming about the biggest chocolate cornet you could ever imagine," she replied indignantly, the stack of bread shaking precariously once again as her feet hit the back of the wooden table's base. "You promised to make up for it by buying a week's worth of buns, didn't you, Tomo-chin?"

"Now that I think about it, I did remember you agreeing to Moca's terms," Saaya agreed, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling.

"Not you too, Saaya…" The first-year grumbled irritably. "I thought we were drummer buddies. You should be on my side here!"

"I will be once you've bought those buns," Saaya responded teasingly, "…and I can't just abandon a fervent supporter of the bakery. Look on the bright side; I think Moca's point reward card's nearly filled up by now, right?"

"Yes…" Moca muttered, reaching for her pocket.

"Moca, no! You're gonna drop them—!"

 _ **Clunk.**_

A loud clatter reverberated through the shop as the products slid out of the heap resting on the arms of the Haneoka student, and collided with the mound of well-ordered buns on the table. That in turn created a chain reaction, causing the table to succumb to the might of gravity, and it ended up on the floor as well with a deafening crash.

Saaya did not know how to react, merely managing a contorted, conflicted expression. On one hand, the scene she just watched was hilariously played out, and on the other… She would have to assemble everything back in order.

The culprit stood stock still, eyeing the clutter of Star-Crossed Bread lying in disarray, a vacant look in her eyes. She pointed to the mess. "Oops… I'll take the ones I was holding just now."

"I'm so sorry about this, Saaya…" Tomoe apologized hastily, already on her knees to tidy up the chaos, "Moca can really go out of hand when she's hungry, and we're already late for practice… Tsugu and Himari aren't gonna be happy about this."

"Ahaha… Don't worry about it. Here," Saaya said, holding out a bunch of Star-Crossed Bread in Moca's direction, "For being such a loyal customer! You guys should go on ahead. I'll finish up with the tidying."

"Eh? We couldn't possibly—"

"In return," Saaya cut in, wagging a finger in mock sternness, "You guys can repent by performing your best for practice later, okay?"

"I'm…we're really really sorry," Tomoe repeated profusely, her face muddled with guilt. She pressed her band member's head downwards into a bow. "Right, Moca?"

"Thaaaanks, Saaya…" The guitarist's eyes lit up as she took the bread off the drummer's hands. "I'll be sure to fill up a second point card for you in return!"

"I'll hold your word to it," The brunette replied with a light smile, ushering them out of the bakery. "Go on, shoo!"

Tomoe dragged her classmate towards the exit by the hood of her clothing. "Let's go. I can already feel Ran's wrath all the way from here."

"Oooh, that's actually pretty scary…" Moca thought aloud, her voice fading off as they left the shop.

The high-schooler watched the two childhood friends dash off until their figures dissipated into the crowd. She would be headed in that direction too, but only much later at night, since Poppin' Party's own timeslot at CiRCLE was specially scheduled for then.

In fact, bookings for the utilization of CiRCLE's studios were only permitted till the late evenings on a daily basis. However, the girls had school until afternoon, and even after that, Saaya had to leave almost immediately after classes ended to help out at the bakery. For the last two weeks or so, the only spare time she had outside of school and work was at night, and that was where she dedicated the time to practice her drumming. Thankfully, Marina was kind enough to grant access of the studios to the band when she learned about the plight they were in.

The first-year sighed like a subtle summer breeze, soft and gentle, almost lost against the chatter of the bustling within the bakery. Bending down, she picked up the wrapped pieces of bread, and started to set them sequentially on the wooden table which was placed back to the centre by Tomoe.

With Tanabata looming ahead, it didn't make things any easier for her. Her father was rarely around, mainly because he had to make more deliveries than usual. The Yamabuki Bakery was well-known, and its bread was popular not just with the shoppers around the area, but was renowned district-wide. Just the day before, her dad had to stuff the entire van with piles of bread, just so he could do the deliveries in a single trip without having to come back for refills. Even then, it took him the entire day to complete the deliveries.

Her younger siblings, Sana and Jun, were way too young, so them helping out at the bakery was out of the question. Even though Kasumi and the other PoPiPa members were more than happy to lend their assistance whenever they believed Saaya needed help, the thought of having to continually rely on them perturbed her considerably. She therefore consented to their offers, but only when there was no other choice.

Then there was her mother. She'd been sickly for a long time, and easily fatigued herself even by performing a few simple chores. Still, she always insisted on helping out with the housework and cooking, to which Saaya reluctantly agreed to. In return however, she kept a strict lookout over her throughout the months, constantly ensuring that she did not overexert herself.

"Saaya," her mother had told a few days ago, "Tanabata's just round the corner, so you and Otou-san are going to be pretty busy in the bakery... Don't you think I should help out too, at least minimally?"

"This isn't up for debate, Okaa-san," she protested flatly. "You know you shouldn't be tiring yourself out needlessly. Otou-san and I will be able to cope. It's only for a few days anyway."

She wouldn't be able to handle a repeat of that incident, the one which led her to quit CHiSPA, her old band formed with Natsuki and the others. Even though she had patched up with Natsu since joining Poppin' Party, it just wasn't the same anymore. They didn't hang out as often as before. They didn't converse as much as before. They weren't playing their instruments together anymore. The consequences from that event were hard-hitting, and had largely shaped her into who she was today.

"I understand your concerns, my dear, but what about the performance you mentioned earlier? You did invite us to a live on Tanabata itself," the woman pressed on, giving her a knowing grin. "Is that why you were coming home so late at night since last week?"

"Yup," Saaya had answered, avoiding any eye contact with her mother. She didn't want to give in. She knew what her mother was getting at. "Band practice."

"Weren't your tests held yesterday?"

The drummer said nothing, and continued to face the floor fixedly, a sense of foreboding clouding her mind. The flow of conversation was going down the line that she had expected—and dreaded—and she knew she was about to lose the battle.

"How did you do for them?"

The teenager's shoulders had slumped in defeat. "I… I passed them, but just barely."

"You keep telling me not to overexert myself, but from my point of view, you're the one piling all the problems on yourself," The woman said, placing a hand gently over Saaya's. The corners of her eyes crinkled as she patted her daughter on the head. "I'll be fine, alright? You should go and do what you enjoy doing."

Saaya looked up resignedly. She couldn't deny what her mother said. In fact, she had already considered herself lucky that she wasn't being reprimanded for the recent deterioration in her grades.

"I guess I can't stop you if you're going to be this stubborn," Saaya had told the elder, her hands raised in defeat, returning the smile weakly. "But promise me that you absolutely won't tire yourself out. Stop if you have to. And this only applies till Tanabata ends!"

The rest of the day flashed by rather uneventfully save for the separate visits from Rimi and Hagumi, of which the latter proposed an absurdly comical idea of a collaboration between her meat shop and the bakery.

"Saaya!" The orange-haired girl had exclaimed in excitement while leaning against the counter. "You know what we should do for Tanabata?! Since the norm's to stuff meat into bread or croquettes, let's stuff bread inside a croquette instead! It'll be a hit for sure! Nobody's gonna expect such a brilliant idea!"

"Well…" Saaya trailed off, handing over a bag of purchases to a customer who was waiting uncomfortably by the tomboy's side, "I do agree that nobody will expect it, but I'm not certain about it resonating with the customers."

The bassist, meanwhile, had a similar reaction to Moca's as she drifted into the shop, gaping at the freshly restocked chocolate cornets lined up across the counter.

"Rimirin," her classmate said, gently poking her on the shoulder. "You really love chocolate cornets, don't you?

"Yes… But I think you guys should know that by now, right?" Rimi asked.

"I know, but…" she'd pointed out, "You're eating one while looking at the ones in the store!"

"Wah! I totally didn't realize that!" the black-haired girl blurted out, nearly dropping the bread she was nibbling on. "Maybe I _am_ addicted to them…"

"I see no harm in that," the drummer chortled.

Dusk was steadily approaching. As the blazing sun descended unhurriedly past the horizon, so did the number of customers entering and leaving the bakery, finally providing some respite from the slogging throughout the day.

"Aaaah," the student allowed a contented sigh to escape her lips, as she flopped down onto a wooden stool across the counter. "At last, some rest…"

"Saaya," a female voice came from the kitchen, "Isn't your band practice starting soon?"

"Yup!" The teenager called back, "I was just about to leave! Remember to take care and let me know if you need any help!"

"Alright!" Her mother's head poked through the beige curtains, which draped around her facial features. "Oh. Take as many pieces of bread as you want to share with the band. They're leftovers anyway. It'll be a shame to waste them."

"Already done," the daughter replied, holding up a moderately sized cane basket filled to the brim with a variety of bread types. "I'm sure they'll gobble everything up before practice ends!"

The woman smiled broadly, waving her daughter to the exit. "That's great. Go on, I'll see you later!"

Saaya raised a hand in response as she left, trotting along the darkened pavement towards the studio.


	2. Chapter 2

"Saaya," The blonde frowned, her fingers drumming testily against the edge of her keyboard, "Your synchronization with Rimi has been really off for the past few songs."

"Yeah," The drummer sighed. "That was my bad. It's especially apparent on the snares too…"

"And the hi-hats."

"And the hi-hats," Saaya repeated regretfully.

"Saaya-chan, maybe we should take a break for now?" Rimi asked, her face lined with concern. "You look a little tired."

"Nah, I'll be fine. C'mon, one more attempt!"

"Yay!" The leader of the band cheered, pumping her fist in the air. "That's the spirit, Saaya! Let's do it!"

"Not everyone has the same level of energy as you do, Kasumi," Arisa grumbled, shaking her head, "Don't push her too hard."

"I know, I know! Less talking, more playing, right? Let's go!"

"She didn't get that at all…"

The lead guitarist turned her head to face Arisa curiously. "Get what?"

"What I just said."

"What did you say?"

"Not to force Saaya to overexert herself!"

Tae tilted her head to the side. "You're afraid that she'll bang the drums too hard? I don't think you should be worried about that. Saaya's a strong girl. Have you seen those muscles of hers?"

The keyboardist groaned. "Let's… just carry on with practice."

"I'll be fine, Arisa. Thanks though." Saaya replied, winking at her.

She raised her drumsticks. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are!" Kasumi called from the front.

The first-year student stared at the mounted tom drums, her sticks hovering over the metal tentatively. A part of her brain was calling out to her to start tapping her drumsticks together to signal to start of the song. The other part gnawed at her consciousness, plaguing her inner thoughts. In truth, it was getting problematic for her to concentrate properly. The notes of the song were floating hazily in her mind, and yet she couldn't seem to grasp them entirely, to store them into memory.

She could not stop agonizing over her mum's wellbeing. Sure, it was drawing towards closing time, so there won't be many customers left to deal with…

But the fact that she fatigues easily has to be taken into account. Would it be too much work for her to handle?

Dad should be headed home anytime now, so he would be able to help out with the closing…

But what about Sana and Jun? Their bedtime was approaching, and they'll need to be looked after…

Adding on to prepping for tomorrow's opening—

"Saaya?" Tae's voice broke the silence. "You're supposed to start the song."

"Huh?" The drummer blurted, breaking out of her reverie. "Oh! Sorry. From the top we go—"

"Wait. Stop."

Kasumi flipped around. "What's happening now?"

"We're taking a break." Arisa muttered, her fingers reaching out to switch off her synthesizer. "Saaya clearly isn't being herself right now."

"Ahaha… I guess I was caught." Saaya forced a laugh, wincing imperceptibly.

"It's a little hard to not notice when you were frozen for at least thirty seconds, y'know."

"Is something wrong?" Rimi inquired, lifting the strap of her bass over her head to separate the instrument from her petite figure. "You were spaced out…"

"I'm just a little tired, I guess. I… I'll take a break outside. Help yourselves to the buns I brought in the meantime!"

"Mmpfh phleemgh bulafimh!" The vocalist garbled, facing up from the basket. Her puffed cheeks jiggled uncomfortably as her mouth threatened to spray out bits of the melon bun she stuffed inside. "Fllmph blahghhf minfemph!"

"C'mon now, Kasumi… Those buns aren't gonna run away from you," Arisa lamented, glaring at her disapprovingly.

"She said not to sweat it, and to take your time," Tae remarked while scrutinizing Kasumi's lips closely. "She also thanked you for the bread."

"Mmhmpf!" she nodded vigorously, giving her band member a thumb up.

"No problem, see you guys in a bit!" Saaya waved as she exited the studio, and made her way to the canteen which was located right next to CiRCLE.

"Ah… Really now," the blue-eyed girl mumbled to herself, pushing the doors open. Her hair ribbon fluttered gently against the arid summer night breeze as she sauntered toward the closest patio table. The gibbous moon radiated a dusky light, and did little to illuminate the cafeteria without any lights on, so she had to stretch her arms out blindly to prevent herself from bumping into any furniture.

She sat down in silence. Gloomy thoughts continued to cloud the teenager's head. It really was impossible for her not to dwell on this after all. And there were still six more days to Tanabata…

Her recent results have suffered. She wasn't performing to the best of her abilities during band practice. Considering that the band had a limited timeframe to work with, and had to go the extra mile to schedule practice sessions, every second of it counts. And yet here she was, burning some of that precious time away. Fretting over a problem that hasn't even occurred, and probably would not occur at all. Wasting the remainder of it on halfhearted drumming.

What's the point of this if you aren't going to put your soul into it, Yamabuki Saaya?

No, she shook her head, the words racing through her brain. Being negative isn't going to cut it. You can't be a burden to them. Especially during this crucial period…

"So? What's been bothering you?"

Saaya craned her neck backwards to spot the silhouette of the twin pigtails gaining in size as the figure approached, its contours sharpening ever so slightly the closer it got to her.

"Arisa… You aren't eating with the rest?"

"No," the keyboardist grimaced, sitting on the drummer's opposite. "The three of them are going nuts in there. Even Rimi's slowly getting corrupted by those two, I swear."

"I don't think that's something to be concerned about," Saaya replied, half-smiling as she attempted to imagine a Rimi infected with Kasumi's or Tae's demeanor.

"My sanity _is_ extremely concerned on the other hand," Arisa uttered irritably, brushing away a few strands of stray hair which were glued to her forehead with perspiration. "Never mind that for now. You've been looking pretty preoccupied with something lately. What's up?"

"Ah…" Saaya trailed off. She didn't know how to respond.

She didn't want to confide these issues with the band. They were already sacrificing their nights for her sake. They had also forbidden her from participating in the planning of the set list, as well as helping out with the composition of their upcoming song for the Tanabata performance. With everything that she had to juggle with, it wasn't like she possessed the time to lend a helping hand anyway, albeit her sorely wanting to do so. She had already loaded a chunk of weight on their shoulders, and didn't want to trouble them any further than she already was.

"Saaya?"

"It's about the test results we got yesterday," the drummer lied. _It's half true though_ , she convinced herself. "I narrowly passed the subjects, which was a pretty large dip in contrast to my usual grades."

"Oh, those," Arisa said, her eyebrows creasing minutely as she frowned. "Well, think of it this way. The fact that you've been helping out at the bakery all day, and then rushing here during the evenings for practice already ate up so much of your time, but you still passed. Compared to—"

 **BANG.**

"Wah!" The blonde shrieked, whipping around to find the source of the disturbance. "What the heck was that?!"

"I think it came from the entrance of CiRCLE," Saaya pondered, peering into the darkness enclosed behind the red doors. "I don't see anything. Should we check it out?"

"There's no need," the keyboardist spoke in an undertone, having seemingly recovered from the initial shock. She pointed at the bottom corner of the door. "Over there."

An indistinct frame was sprawled on the floor inside the building, which was barely noticeable through the door. The shape quivered faintly, crawling its way towards the door. It then rested against the metal frame, a human-sized head with the outline of feline ears pinned against the glass panel. A second later, the door conceded to the applied mass and burst open, with the singer tumbling out into the open. She released an audible groan of pain as she rolled to a stop at Saaya's feet.

"Ouch… That hurt."

"You alright, Kasumi?" Saaya asked as she bent towards the band leader, a genuine tone of concern embedded in her words, though it was clear she was straining to stifle a giggle.

"I'm fine, fine!" the vocalist exclaimed, dusting herself off as she bounded up hastily. "What's taking you so long, Arisa? You said you were going to fetch Saaya but you're still sitting here! Slacking, are you now?"

"Of course not!" Arisa retorted indignantly. "I'm just worried for Saaya is all!"

"Heeeeeh…" The drummer smirked. "That's something you don't hear every day."

"Sh-shut up!" she shot back, looking away pointedly despite the inky darkness already obscuring her face from the view of the other two girls.

"Worried? What about?" Kasumi asked.

"Test results," Saaya interjected before Arisa could say anything. "I was just a little disappointed with my results, and Arisa here was showering her love and concern for me to make me feel better."

"Huh?!"

"Oh!" Kasumi concurred. "She does that all the time! Always saying that she doesn't care, but she actually does in reality. And it's super obvious too at times!"

"Oi, Kasumi! Why are you talking as if I'm not here?!"

"Mmm…" Saaya nodded solemnly. "I think she's what you would call a tsundere."

Arisa covered her face with her palm. "You guys…"

"Anyway, what were you about to say before Kasumi made her grand entrance?" The drummer asked.

"What d'you mean?"

"You were comparing my grades to something else."

"Oh," Arisa pointed at Kasumi for a second time, "Her."

"Eh?"

"You didn't know? She failed almost all of her —"

"ARISAAAAAAA!" Kasumi wailed, lunging forward to grab the band member's wrist with one hand, and struggling to cover her mouth with the other.

"Geh! Get off me!" Arisa yelled in surprise, shaking the band leader off like an irksome fly, sending her toppling once again. She turned back to the brunette as if nothing had happened. "Adding that she had no excuse to fail, since our practice sessions were at night, there was plenty of time for her to study."

"I did study!" the girl protested from the other table, rubbing her back which impacted her fall. "It's just… The time I spent on breaks might have exceeded the time spent on studying… Hehe."

"And now you're facing an entire week's worth of revision classes. You deserve it."

"Ugh…"

"She promised to study extra hard for them beforehand too," Arisa said ruefully, "Granted, these recent tests barely contribute to our final grade for the year, so you'll be fine. This time's a special case, after all. Your grades are usually above average."

"I guess you're right," Saaya murmured.

"Don't brood over it too much," the keyboardist said, getting up. "C'mon, we should head back and resume practice. There's school tomorrow. We shouldn't stay up for too long."

"Alright," she replied, following suit. "That break did help to clear up my mind. I'll be able to focus now. Thanks for that!"

"I-it's nothing really. Oi, Kasumi!" Arisa growled, her pigtails swinging around as she jabbed at the other girl lying haphazardly nearby, "Back to practice!"

"Uuu…"

"What's wrong with you?"

Kasumi lifted her head which was buried in her arms. "Please help me study for the retests…"

"Really now…"

To Saaya's relief, she managed to get her groove back on for the remainder of practice, and the hours flew by without a hitch, save for the final song where she lost her grip on her drumstick and it shot forward, narrowly missing Tae's head.

"Wow," the guitarist quipped, "Look at it go. I told you Saaya's a strong girl, Arisa."

"And I told you that I wasn't referring to that kind of strong…"

"So you're implying that she's weak? That's a pretty mean thing to say…"

"Y'know, sometimes I wonder how I keep getting dragged into this nonsense," Arisa complained.

"But if it is nonsense that you enjoy," Tae continued while staring at her band member, "Then it can't really be called nonsense, right? It'll be called… Umm…"

"Fun-sense?" Rimi proposed.

"Enjoy-sense?" Kasumi offered.

"Those suggestions make no sense at all," Arisa grunted. "And how on earth am I enjoying this?!"

"Alright, alright!" Saaya broke into the chatter, having picked up her sticks lying at the other end of the room. She glanced up to face the digital clock mounted on the wall, and the crimson numbers that flashed back indicated that a new day had arrived. "Gosh, it's already midnight! Let's pack up and leave ASAP! Remember to lock up after we're done, Kasumi."

"Okay!" the vocalist hollered back.

"I hope I'll be able to stay awake during class tomorrow…" Rimi commented worryingly as she wiped the strings of her bass.

"What lessons do we have tomorrow?" Saaya asked, pressing down on the middle of her snare drums for her routine maintenance check.

"Umm… Math, English, Literature and Japanese History if I remember correctly," she recited.

"Literature and Japanese History?! Seriously?! Back-to-back?!" The singer wailed.

"Yup… They're the mundane subjects, so it's going to be tough to pay attention, especially when those lessons are in the afternoon."

"And on a hot summer afternoon… I fall asleep during those subjects sometimes, even if we're not doing these nightly practices." Tae moaned.

"Yay! We're similar then, O-Tae!" Kasumi said brightly, giving her a hi-five.

"What isn't similar is that she passed the tests, and you didn't," Arisa cut in, folding her arms sternly.

"Ugh.."

"Just so you know, we're staying back after lessons end to catch up on your revision, Kasumi," the blonde prodded on unconcernedly, "At this rate our homeroom teacher's gonna ban you from any band activites, and you don't want that, do you?"

"Yes, Arisa-sensei…" she caved in dejectedly.

"You'll be fine, Kasumi," Tae said, swinging her gig bag over her shoulder. "I'm done packing. See you guys in school tomorrow!"

"It's technically today," Saaya pointed out, "So see you later!"

"Ah, O-Tae-chan!" Rimi called out as she picked up her bass hurriedly, "Let's go together! We can stop by the convenience store on the way and get some ice cream!"

"Ooh, good idea Rimi!" Tae's eyes shone, rubbing her hands in delight. "Arisa, wanna tag along?"

"Eh?"

"You reacted pretty strongly when Rimirin mentioned the ice-cream," Saaya noted.

"Well… I'm just following you guys because the shop's on the way home," she muttered darkly as she trudged towards the waiting pair at the door. "It's not like I wanted to eat ice-cream."

"If you say so," Tae responded, a knowing smile playing on her lips. "Cya later, Kasumi, Saaya!"

The two classmates waved until the trio was out of sight.

Saaya picked up a rag and resumed her wiping of the cymbals, though her mind had already wandered off, fast-forwarding to what should be done the next day.

I'll need to make sure I wake up early tomorrow to wake Sana and Jun up for school…

Then there's the meeting with the homeroom teacher after class tomorrow to discuss about the recent results…

I'll need to rush to the bakery after that since we've ordered a new table to display more products for Tanabata, and Otou-san won't be home…

Then there's practice to go to—

"Saaaaya!"

"Huh?"

For the second time that evening, the drummer broke out of her trance to find her friend squatting down, almost face to face with her.

"Kasumi… You're a little too close."

The band leader stood up, and wagged a finger toward the drummer. "You don't have to keep everything to yourself. We—PoPiPa— will be here for you, always!"

"Eh? What's with this all of a sudden?" Saaya asked, a look of surprise dashed across her face.

"I actually don't know," Kasumi mused, drawing back. "I just felt like I had to say it all of a sudden. But I mean it! You have to let us know if anything's happening, okay?!"

Saaya chuckled dryly. Kasumi was just being Kasumi as usual. But the declaration warmed her heart, sparking off a light inside. It really was the best decision that she made to break free from her past to join Poppin'Party

"Thank you, Ka—shu —mii—" she spoke slowly, rubbing the band leader's head with an outstretched palm. "I'll keep that in mind. Let's lock up, I'm done here."

"Okaaaay!" the singer chanted, reaching into her pockets. "Ah…"

"Hmm? Something up?"

Kasumi didn't answer, and started to rummage through her remaining pockets furiously, her movements becoming increasingly desperate as she moved from pocket to pocket.

"Kasumi… Don't tell me…"

"No no, I found it!" she announced, pulling it out from the final pocket, and raising it high for the brunette to see.

"That's… Isn't that O-Tae's guitar pick?"

"Eh? Waaaaaaah!" Kasumi cried out in despair, "I must've swapped them by accident! The key's with O-Tae!"

* * *

Ending note: To be honest, I'm personally not a huge fan of how I wrote this, which was a few months ago, because it feels like I've inserted too much dialogue, and expressed too little of Saaya's inner thoughts inside. Also felt like the whole thing could've been written better, but I'm just gonna leave it here for now.


End file.
